Table of Contents
Executive Summary
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- Revenue exceeds $2 billion in 2011
- One in five adults plays social/online games
- Social games compete with other gaming and entertainment options
- Facebook leads; Google + and everyone else follow
- The Zynga effect
- Marketing wonderland
- More genres/ways to make games more social
- Small percentage of gamers responsible for majority of revenue
- Gamers ready for more transactional advertising
- Majority of online gamers have diverse gaming interests
- Social gamers not very social
- Friends, a leading source of new game identification
- Hispanics a promising market for SNS/online portal games
Insights and Opportunities
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- True cross-platform play
- More platforms
- More revenue streams
- Men
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- Figure 1: Weekly gameplay by platform, by gender and age, July 2011
- Avoiding Facebook Credits
Inspire Insights
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- Trend: Moral Brands
- Games that give
- Trend: Life Coaching
- Players that receive
Market Size and Forecast
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- Key points
- Revenue doubles 2006-11
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- Figure 2: Total U.S. sales of online games, at current prices, 2006-15
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- Figure 3: Total U.S. sales of online games, at inflation-adjusted 2010 prices, 2006-15
Market Drivers
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- Key points
- Internet access and time spent online
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- Figure 4: Internet usage and average hours spent on PC, 2004-11
- Majority of internet users on a social network
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- Figure 5: U.S. social network users and penetration, 2009-13
- Online gameplay increasingly common and frequent
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- Figure 6: Online gameplay, January 2005-June 2011
- Ad revenue still rising
- The “mium” in freemium
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- Figure 7: Game purchases on portals or social networks in past month, by platform played, July 2011
Competitive Context
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- Key points
- Competition for online time
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- Figure 8: U.S. leading online activities by share of internet time, 2009-11
- Increasing competition from other platforms
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- Figure 9: Incidence of gameplay, by platform, July 2011
- Mobile gaming
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- Figure 10: Total U.S. sales of mobile phone and tablet-based games, at current prices, 2005-15
- Console gaming
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- Figure 11: Total U.S. sales to dealers of console games, at current prices, 2006-12
- Competing for time with other digital pursuits
Gaming Sites
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- Key points
- Facebook and everyone else
- Portal market fragmented
- MMOGs in their own world
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- Figure 12: Websites visited in the last week for gaming, July 2011
- Social networks
- Google+
- MySpace
- Online portals
- Electronic Arts (Pogo.com)
- Yahoo! Games
- Nickelodeon Games (AddictingGames)
- MSN Games
- AOL Games (Games.com)
- Newgrounds
- GameHouse
Leading Companies
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- Key points
- Zynga exceeds 195 million MAU, EA’s The Sims Social an instant hit
- Imitation the sincerest form of flattery
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- Figure 13: Leading game developers on Facebook, Oct. 17, 2011
- Zynga
- Electronic Arts (EA)
- Wooga
- Playdom
- King.com
Innovations and Innovators
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- Hardcore social games
- Raptr
- Prediculous
- Idle Engine
Marketing Strategies
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- Networks complete marketing ecosystems unto themselves
- The gamer is the best promoter
- Ads, the social network or portal, and reviews
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- Figure 14: Methods of finding new games to play, by platform played, July 2011
- Designing social opportunities into the game
- Games as marketing vehicles
Platforms and Frequency of Play
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- Key points
- One third play social network games; three in 10 play online games
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- Figure 15: Incidence of gameplay, by platform, July 2011
- When it comes to daily play, social networks lead
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- Figure 16: Frequency of gameplay, by platform, July 2011
- Little gender disparity in social network/online gaming frequency
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- Figure 17: Weekly gameplay by platform, by gender, July 2011
- Online portals retain their audience across age groups
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- Figure 18: Weekly gameplay by platform, by age, July 2011
Sites Used
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- Key points
- Facebook most popular gaming site
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- Figure 19: Gaming sites visited in last week, by platform played, July 2011
- Facebook attracts all; gender differences for online gaming portals
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- Figure 20: Gaming sites visited in last week, by gender, July 2011
- Facebook games most popular with gamers aged 25-44
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- Figure 21: Websites visited to play games in the last week, by age, July 2011
Spending
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- Key points
- One in four pay to play
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- Figure 22: Game purchases on portals or networks in past month, by platform, July 2011
- Women play, men spend
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- Figure 23: Game purchases on a social network site in the past month, by gender, July 2011
- Spending most prevalent among 25-34 year olds; least among 55+
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- Figure 24: Game purchases on a social network or portal in the past month, by age, July 2011
- Higher-income adults somewhat more likely to spend on gaming
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- Figure 25: Game purchases on a social network site in the past month, by household income, July 2011
Ads, Advergames, and Product Placement
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- Key points
- Ads noticed by a majority of adult gamers
- About one in six watch ads to earn virtual goods
- Men more likely to have played an advergame
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- Figure 26: Social gamers’ attitudes to advertisements and advergaming, by gender, July 2011
- Figure 27: Attitudes to advertisements and advergaming, by age, July 2011
- Most players recall seeing brands
- Men more likely to appreciate product placement
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- Figure 28: Social gamers’ attitudes toward product placement, by gender, July 2011
Finding New Games
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- Key points
- Most adults play more than two games in more than two genres
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- Figure 29: Attitudes to finding new games, by platform played, July 2011
- Regardless of gender, most like a wide range of games/genres
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- Figure 30: Attitudes to finding new games, by gender, July 2011
- Youngest adults try new games most frequently
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- Figure 31: Attitudes to finding new games, by age, July 2011
Multiplayer Gaming
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- Key points
- Solo gaming most common
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- Figure 32: Number of playing companions in online social gaming, July 2011
- Men more likely to play multiplayer games
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- Figure 33: Number of playing companions in online social gaming, by gender, July 2011
- Older gamers less likely to play multiplayer games
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- Figure 34: Number of playing companions in online social gaming, by age, July 2011
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- Figure 35: Attitudes to playing with friends and discussing games with friends, by platform, July 2011
- Younger adults more social than older gamers
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- Figure 36: Attitudes to playing with friends and discussing games with friends, by age, July 2011
- Friends critical in new game selection
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- Figure 37: Methods of finding new games to play, by weekly gameplay by platform, July 2011
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- Figure 38: Methods of finding new games to play, by weekly gameplay by platform, July 2011
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- Figure 39: Methods of finding new games to play, by gender, July 2011
- Friends top source for new games regardless of age
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- Figure 40: Methods of finding new games to play, by age, July 2011
Interest in Advanced Features
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- Key points
- About half of gamers would like to win real-world prizes
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- Figure 41: Interest in graphics heavy online gaming and real world prizes, by platform played, July 2011
- Men more keen on intensive graphics
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- Figure 42: Interest in graphics heavy online gaming and real world prizes, by gender, July 2011
- Prizes desired by all but the oldest; graphic intensity, only by the youngest
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- Figure 43: Interest in graphics heavy online gaming and real world prizes, by age, July 2011
Impact of Race and Hispanic Origin
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- Key points
- Asians and Hispanics more likely to play network and MMOG games
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- Figure 44: Weekly gameplay by platform, by race/Hispanic origin, July 2011
- Facebook popular regardless of race or Hispanic origin
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- Figure 45: Gaming sites visited in last week, by race/Hispanic origin, July 2011
- Hispanics more likely to buy virtual goods/other items
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- Figure 46: Game purchases on portals or networks in past month, by race/Hispanic origin, July 2011
- Hispanics more likely to try new games frequently
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- Figure 47: Attitudes to finding new games, by race/Hispanic origin, July 2011
- Blacks slightly more likely to play multiplayer
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- Figure 48: Number of playing companions in online social gaming, by race/Hispanic origin, July 2011
- Hispanics more likely to tell friends about games
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- Figure 49: Methods of finding new games to play, by race/Hispanic origin, July 2011
Custom Consumer Groups
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- Those trying new games more likely to make purchases
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- Figure 50: Social gaming purchases in past month, by those who try new games frequently, July 2011
- Adults who try new games frequently more open to advertising
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- Figure 51: Attitudes to ads and advergaming, by those who try new games frequently, July 2011
- Most adults who like to try new games currently play multiple games
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- Figure 52: Attitudes to finding new games, by those who try new games frequently, July 2011
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- Figure 53: Number of playing companions, by those who try new games frequently, July 2011
- Adults who like to try new games view product placement more favorably
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- Figure 54: Attitudes toward product placement, by those who try new games frequently, July 2011
- Adults who try new games tell their friends about games they like
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- Figure 55: Playing with friends and discussing games with friends, by those who try new games frequently, July 2011
- Adults who try new games search high and low
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- Figure 56: Methods of finding new games to play, by those who try new games frequently, July 2011
Appendix—Other Useful Tables
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- Additional tables by household income
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- Figure 57: Attitudes to advertisements and advergaming, by household income, July 2011
- Figure 58: Weekly gameplay by platform, by household income, July 2011
- Figure 59: Attitudes to finding new games, by household income, July 2011
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- Figure 60: Number of playing companions in online social gaming, by household income, July 2011
- Figure 61: Methods of finding new games to play, by household income, July 2011
- Additional tables by presence of children
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- Figure 62: Weekly gameplay by platform, by presence of children in household, July 2011
- Additional tables by platform played
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- Figure 63: Game purchases on portal sites or social networks in the past month, by platform played, July 2011
- Figure 64: Attitudes to advertisements and advergaming, by platform played, July 2011
- Additional tables by gender
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- Figure 65: Gaming influentials, by gender, July 2011
- Additional tables by race/Hispanic origin
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- Figure 66: Attitudes to advertisements and advergaming, by race/Hispanic origin, July 2011
- Additional tables by custom consumer groups
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- Figure 67: Weekly gameplay by platform, by gender and age, July 2011
- Figure 68: Weekly gameplay by platform, by race and age, July 2011
Appendix—Trade Associations
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